Autism Awareness Ribbons Tie Passaic Valley Together

Isabella Nicosia'19

12 April 2019

Passaic Valley students, along with the PV/Bergen ABA Art Class Program, have recently designed ribbons for Autism Awareness Month in April. They are currently hung up around the school in an effort to promote school pride and raise awareness to the wonderful programs and inclusive community we have here at PV.

Art teacher Ms. Corine Czepiel began this project with the hope of bringing something to PV that would benefit everyone. “We really wanted to highlight the [ABA]program and to be more accepting of them into our school," she explained. “Dark blue, light blue, red, and yellow are the colors of Autism Awareness Month, so we really wanted to reflect those while also being unique and different just like those kids are, everyone is, and we just need to be more accepting of everyone’s differences.”

Students were able to express themselves and the program in any artistic way they saw fit. “I chose to design my ribbon with puzzle pieces and color coordinate it with the autism colors (red, blue, and yellow)," said sculpture student Jodaliz Alverez '19. "The design had to bring awareness to Autism, so the most important Autism symbol is the puzzle itself. I felt like it was a great project to take part in, and I really enjoyed designing my ribbon.”

This new project was initiated this year to make the halls of PV brighter, while also shining a light on just how amazing our school really is. With each ribbon, the viewer can really see just how uplifting and truly different each individual is.